Paradise Shattered
by White Mage Koorii
Summary: ABANDONED Sasuke lived a life of routine monotony until a series of events upturned it all and he found himself living with a life loving blonde named Naruto who is hell bent on teaching him theres more to life. Things like friendship and love.
1. Begin

**General Warning: **Yaoi, Possible Adult scenarios, Violence, AU.  
**Chapter Warning:** None.  
**Pairings: **NarutoxSasuke, Others later.  
**Songs While Written: '**Gravity' from Wolfs Rain and 'Sick Cycle Carousel' by Lifehouse  
**Disclaimer: **THis will always be the same. I don't own Naruto, never will. Idid however come up with this plot and the character Sumiyaka Rie. Sumiyaka Moni belongs to Marauding-Moonpaw. These two will be appearing later. 

**A/N: **Alright, just a warning that this is my first Naruto Fanfic. Hopefully I'll keep the motivation to keep at it. This chapters pretty boring and more or less just focues on Sasuke. Anyway, hope you people enjoy it! Also I'd like to thank a friend of mine you Beta'd a few paragraphs of it, though not the whole thing! Now then, on with the fic!

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The day began just as any other plain, boring, redundant, just like every monotonous day in his life. Not that Uchiha Sasuke was particularly bothered by the fact that his life was plain and repetitive. No, the fact that his life was routine and very rarely faltered from that routine was a source of comfort for him, no matter how much he hated to admit it. The fact that every day followed a very similar pattern, give or take a few margins of error due to how undependable the world at large was, soothed his soul and eased away the worries that often plagued his mind. That is, the very fact that he had a routine meant that surprises very came up unless he faltered from that routine, and so with no surprises life was smooth. Dull but smooth, and that was comforting.

So it was, that like every other morning Sasuke woke up to the slight glint of sunlight through the curtains over his window. The alarm clock resting on the stand next to his bed flashing the time demurely at him. Six o'clock as usual, nothing was out of the ordinary. Closing his dark eyes he idly counted down from five and just as he made it to the number one the door to his bedroom swung open with a very mild swishing sound. He could feel eyes on him, yet didn't bat an eyelash. It was a routine he had, another silly routine that made him feel better all the same.

"Sasuke." a smooth voice said from the doorway.

With a sigh Sasuke sat up on his bed and turned his head to eye his older brother, standing there with his hand on the doorknob already dressed for another day. Pressing his lips together so as to appear faintly miffed he replied tersely, "Itachi."

The elder simply gave his usual mild chuckle before turning away from the sleep ruffled Sasuke, "Breakfast is waiting for you on the table. I'll see you tonight, little brother." Without further word Itachi disappeared out down the hall. A few moments later the sound of the door to the outside world shutting followed shortly by that of a car being brought to life announced that Itachi was out of the house.

Heaving a slight sigh Sasuke angled his head back to stare toward the ceiling, the familiar surface wasn't even really seen as he had wandered off into a world of thoughts. Closing his dark eyes he simply sat there, bare torso caressed by early morning sunlight and the sheets pooled around his waist, he knew it was a slight break in his routine to sit there. Normally Sasuke would get out of bed as soon as he heard Itachi depart. Sure he loved his brother, he'd practically raised him, but he was cold and one could only put up with being utterly ignored for so long. He rarely ate with his brother, it was just to tense of an affair for him to bother. He'd long given up attempting to communicate with Itachi, he'd totally closed off after the 'incident.'

Right then those dark eyes snapped open, he didn't want to go there. No need to dwell on the past. So, even though he'd rather like to stay in that comfortable nest of blankets and sunlight, Sasuke dragged himself up off his bed and strode toward the dresser against the far wall, rummaging for something to wear. After a few minutes he just decided on a pair of faded jeans and a long sleeved shirt. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, where he'd have to look fancy, not that he couldn't make the simply outfit look elegant. Throwing a slight smirk to the wall he ran a hand through his hair then exited the room.

Down the stairs, down a short hallway, first door on the right, and he found himself in the spacious kitchen. His mother had insisted on a big kitchen, he recalled. Nothing better than cooking to let go of stress, so she had stated. Again, Sasuke forced his thoughts to a halt. It was annoying that he kept taking these absurd trips down memory lane, a place he didn't want to visit. Inhaling slightly he caught the sent of eggs and bacon, there was probably some toast in there to but does toast really have a smell unless its burnt black? Soon enough his gaze and located the food in its familiar place on the kitchen island.

Drifting over he leaned against the islands top and began to idly eat the breakfast, his eyes trained on the window across from him. Through the partly opened curtains he could see a small view of the lawn, the house across the street, and said houses lawn. Now and then a neighborhood kid could be seen wandering passed, probably setting out to catch the bus at the end of the block and head to school. Everything was the same as always. Him, leaning against the island staring out the window and eating his food in that mechanical way. Sighing slightly he glanced down at the plate, now empty, and picked it up, moving to the sink he rinsed the plate and utensils before setting them in the drying rack beside the basin. A slight flick of his hands to rid them of clinging water and a cursory look around the kitchen before Sasuke headed towards the living room with quick, sure strides that gave the assurance that he had the layout of everything perfectly memorized.

Upon reaching the living room, Sasuke gave the room a once over as well. There was nothing special to be seen, the room was the same as it always was, with the beige colored sofa sitting before the teak, glass topped coffee table and its spattering of magazines and news papers, the TV across an amount of three feet of floor space from that, back against the wall beside a sliding glass doorway leading out into the backyard. Apparently satisfied with this normalcy; Sasuke turned his attention elsewhere, that is, the front door.

With yet another sigh, Sasuke walked over and toed his tennis shoes on, grabbed his light jacket off the hook by the door, and walked out; locking and closing the door behind him. Pausing on the front porch at the top of the steps, his jacket resting in the crook of his right arm; he jammed his hands into his pockets. The jacket was more or less a 'just in case' thing, it was still earlier spring and could get cold enough to need one. For now, however, the early morning sunlight was warm and pleasant.

Growing tired of the monotonous view that he was so used to, Sasuke stepped down off the edge of the porch, down the stairs with the last one giving a slight squeak as it always did, and down onto the walk. A few quick strides brought him to the larger sidewalk that stretched up and down the neat row of houses in the midst of which the one Itachi and he lived in. The houses were relatively the same; all two or three story affairs with small differences in their outer decor and obviously in the lawns since each owner had chosen to add to the appearance of their homes in different ways; or, as it was with his own, the front yard was completely untouched but for the odd time when the lawn needed mowed.

Shaking his head to get his thoughts out of such dull contemplation, Sasuke set off down the sidewalk toward the more populated center of the city. It was a good few miles, a brisk walk, but Sasuke enjoyed it all the same. Slowly leaving behind primped suburban lawns to give way to small shops and restaurants beyond these small shops was the bigger high rises of the city. The whole thing was rather nice viewed like this. The sun rising higher in the sky and casting a soft glow across the glass covered sides of the tall skyscrapers, everything taking on a surreal glow.

Sasuke had his head tilted up and slightly back, his dark eyes focused on the view before him rather than the world around him, he didn't need to see where he was going; his body followed the well known path of its own accord. He was almost to his destination, a small quaint café where he would get his daily caffeine fix, when a voice hailed him, drawing out his name obnoxiously, "Saaaasuuukkeeee-kuuuun!"

Pausing, though Sasuke knew it was a mistake, the dark haired young man peered back over his shoulder watching incredulously as a blonde haired girl flounced toward him, grinning. Turning away he schooled his face into perfect blankness before stating her name in a cold greeting, "Ino…"

Giggling the blonde girl latched onto his arm and tilted her head, smiling sweetly at him, "So… Sasuke-kun would you like to come hang out with me and Sakura tonight?" she asked, "We're going to rent some movies, it'll be great! You can't just sit around home alone all the time Sasuke, so who better to hang out with than us?"

Turning his head slightly Sasuke gave her a long look, lips pursed as though he were thinking over the proposition. It was, however, only about fifteen seconds before he narrowed his eyes a bit and stated his answer a bit sharply, "No."

Ino gave a rather exasperated sigh allowing her arms to detach from around his, "But Sasukeeeeeee" she whined, doing her best to look pitiful and thoroughly hurt by his rejection.

"Ino… Why would I want to hang out with you and Sakura?" Sasuke asked annoyance heavily lacing his voice.

The blonde stuck her lower lip out crossing her arms over her stomach and full out pouting, "Because we're your friends Sasuke!" Giving the boy a hurt look she looked at the ground. "Is there no better reason than to be around people other than that you care about them?"

Before he could answer a third voice interrupted him with an annoyed drawl, "Ino, give it up. You'll never get the Ice Princess to socialize. Stop trying, its much to troublesome."

Ino whirled around placing her left hand on her hip and pointing at the newcomer with her other her brows drawn together in a nasty scowl, "Shikamaru!" she screeched. "Don't call Sasuke that! How can you be so mean, we're supposed to be his friends!"

Shika reached up and batted the pointing finger off to the side with an idle swipe of his hand, "He obviously doesn't think of us like that, so why should I be nice?"

Stomping her foot Ino gave a frustrated sound and turned away from the brunette a smile already plastered on her face, "So anyway, Sasuke—" she trailed off when she found that Sasuke had already walked off while she argued with Shikamaru.

Having left the two alone to their petty arguments Sasuke had slipped quickly down the street, making a quick escape in the earlier morning pedestrian traffic, and into the small café he frequented. The line in the café was of moderate length. Apparently most people preferred the bigger retail chains like Starbucks. To Sasuke, such highly frequented places were much more crowded, and the taste wasn't as good as a smaller one so, he had discovered this place and came almost every morning. Unfortunately there was one small hitch to this theory of the smaller place being more pleasant, and her name was Sakura.

Oh sure, Sakura was a sweet girl as they went but, sadly she had a severely misguided crush on him and wouldn't let it go despite blatant rejection. Rolling his eyes Sasuke stepped up to the counter and the pink haired girls previously bored demeanor shifted immediately to one of that was slightly hyper and insanely perky; frankly it scared him.

Sakura leaned forward on the counter resting her elbows against the surface and cupping her chin in her hands, "Hiya Sasuke-kun!" she chirped eyes crinkling slightly as she gave him a wide smile. "Notice anything different?" she asked turning her head slightly.

Keeping his face forcefully blank as he stared at the girl, badly wanting to ask her if she had developed some sort of twitch, he opted for the bland observation instead, "You cut your hair." He stated sounding bored with the world.

Sakura beamed apparently not noticing that he didn't really care, and fluffed one side of the strands curling around her face, "Yup! Ino said the style makes me look cute!" she gave him a wide and happy smile as though the fact he'd noticed meant the world to her.

Rolling his eyes again Sasuke gave vent to a minute sigh and drummed his fingers on the counter top, "Could I please have my usual, Sakura?" he asked allowing a bit of aggravation to leak into his tone.

For a moment the girl's happy demeanor faltered, but it bounced back a second later, "Of course, Sasuke-kun!"

Shortly Sasuke was settled at his favorite table; the one that was at the front of the shop by the window, but still it was settled in a corner. Sasuke loved to sit here, for from this position he could watch the flow of humanity drifting by while sipping at the slowly cooling latte in his hand. He could watch the boiling sea of humanity as it went about its daily life from afar and feel as though everything was a dream, a feeling that was so strange, so surreal that he embraced it and welcomed the times when it came upon him. Sometimes he often wished that he was a part of the world beyond the little café window, fathomed the possibility of being social and going beyond this sad little routine that he had fallen into. He never did though and, Sasuke hated to admit it, he was afraid of breaking from the routine. For some odd reason he couldn't help but feel that should he drop the monotonous routine his life had become, his life would shatter.

Smirking slightly at his own foolish thoughts, Sasuke stood slowly and casually tossed the now empty Styrofoam cup into the nearby trash receptacle. Sakura waved frantically at him giving a happy smile and a call of, "See you later, Sasuke-kun!"

At first glance these words were nothing to worry about, and Sasuke didn't worry about them. Shrugging off a slight chill that ran up his spine for nothing more than the cold, he headed out the café's door and onto the semi-busy street. Without giving the rest of the world a second glance Sasuke began his trip back home.

As usual the trip both ways was swift an uneventful though it did take a good few hours out of the day, which is why he tended to go to the café everyday. Stepping through the door and back into the house he deposited his jacket on its usual hook and toed off his shoes. Haphazardly tossing his keys onto the hall stand near the front door Sasuke wandered into the living room and dropped down onto the couch with a sigh. Shifting around until he lay with his head propped up on one armrest, and his legs stretched out over the rest of the couch he once more found himself staring at the ceiling. A slight scowl crossed his face before he diverted his attention to the nearby coffee table and the scattering of novels and magazines on the glass surface. Reaching out he snatched up a book at random and flipped open to the first page, beginning to read idly.

With a slight twitch Sasuke awoke from the little nap he'd fallen into. A slight groan escaping past his lips as he peered around looking for whatever it was that had woken him, and there it was; the phone was ringing. Glaring at the phone like it was the root of all evil Sasuke stood, casting a glance at the clock on the wall as he picked up the phone and cradled it on his right shoulder. Apparently he'd been asleep for a couple of hours, still that didn't give someone the right to wake him up.

"Hello?" came the voice from the receiver tugging Sasuke away from his disgruntled thoughts with a light sigh.

"Hello, Uchiha residence." He responded dully.

"Ah, good I have the right number then. I'm calling to talk to Itachi." The caller responded sounding a little overly cheerful in a way that put Sasuke in mind of a short, fat, balding man bouncing about.

Scowling slightly at the imagery his mind was cooking up Sasuke replied in a clipped monotone, "Itachi isn't home. I'm his younger brother Sasuke, he'll be back later this evening if you'd like to leave a mess—" Before he could finish his sentence there was a dull click on the other end of the line. Jerking the phone away from his ear Sasuke gave the inanimate object an affronted look, and slammed it back down into the cradle. "Stupid morons." He snarled adding a few other more 'colorful' curses to that as well.

Stalking into the kitchen to make himself some lunch, digging out the makings for a sandwich from the refrigerator his mind mulling over the many different ways to murder idiot callers. When he finally straightened and turned, setting down a jar of pickles a little forcefully, there was a small smirk playing at his features. The idea of hunting down and painfully killing morons was always amusing to think about and lightened his mood a bit. Depositing the rest of the ingredients Sasuke set about putting them together into the easy to make food. Throwing everything together on the bread before stowing the lot of it away again, and grabbing a soda, Sasuke retreated back through the living room clutching his lunch and out onto the back patio.

Sasuke sat down on the steps leading down into the backyard from the cement and tile patio and its wrought iron arbors and fencing, completely ignoring the similar table and chairs tucked in a shady corner. Instead there he sat looking over the yard and garden, and Sasuke couldn't really help but sigh at the sight of it. The area had once been beautiful, it was another thing his mother had taken pride in. Rose bushes, lilacs, lilies, and other lesser known varieties of plants with long, awkward names; Sasuke could still see them all even though they were getting overgrown and looking ragged.

Neither Sasuke nor his brother had, had the heart to look after their mother's garden after she had died, though Sasuke supposed he should have; he'd had the time. Itachi was always busy looking after their father's company, which he'd taken over after the death of their parents. Sasuke, however, had just went to school and stayed home. Now as a legal adult he supposed he should get a job, and maybe find his own place but he hadn't been able to force himself to do so yet, and Itachi had never mentioned it. Sasuke was perfectly fine financially he still had pretty much all of his inheritance from his parents, and it was still earning interest, he was meager.

Tearing a piece of bread from his half eaten sandwich Sasuke tossed it out into the yard, watching with mild interest as a few squawking sparrows fought over the morsel. Finishing his food Sasuke continued to sit there, staring at the unkempt garden, recalling a few memories that he had tucked away in his mind. Blinking himself out of the daze he had settled in he was surprised to find the shadows creeping across backyard and the sky speckled with a small smattering of stars. He had to have been sitting there for some hours if it was getting into evening. Standing Sasuke groaned slightly as his body protested and brushed off his rear and thighs, both cold from the cement he'd been sitting on the past few hours.

Grabbing the empty soda can he retreated back into the house, thinking about getting dinner started so that Itachi wouldn't have to cook when he got home. However, his trip back to the kitchen was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking rapidly on the front door, frowning he set the can on the coffee table and moved to the door, pulling it open. Sasuke's scowl only deepened at who was on the other side: Sakura and Ino. Eyeing the two girls wearily he asked, resignation evident in his voice, "What are you two doing here?"

The blonde girl grinned broadly at him leaning forward into the doorway, "We're here to kidnap you and make you have some fun with you're friends for a change Sasuke-kun!" she chirped happily. Sakura grinned nodding her head in agreement with her friend.

"I don't want—" Sasuke was never allowed to finish the sentiment as he, and his jacket were grabbed by Ino and dragged out the door.

The pink haired girl gave him a slight smirk as she stepped into the house and set a piece of paper on the hall table, "Sorry, Sasuke you don't get a choice!" With that the two girls dragged the protesting Uchiha off down the sidewalk. When Itachi came home an hour or so later he'd only find a note.

_Itachi, _

_Sasuke has been kidnapped by his caring friends_

_to be forced to participate in a movie night_

_with said friends. He'll be back in a few hours._

_So don't worry about him._

_Sakura and Ino_

No one even noticed the unassuming white car that had been parked in front of the Uchiha home all day, or the two people inside of it.

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**A/N: **Alright, well there you have it. This was originally going to go longer but I decided to drop it off there and save the rest for Chapter Two. Wonder how long it'll take me to type that up. This chapter was Five pages in Microsoft Word. Yeesh. Anyway, leave a review if you'd be so kind and maybe comment on what pairings you'd like to see? Just don't ask me to put Sasuke or Naruto with anyone else, I'm a total SasuNaruSasu fangirl ;)


	2. Cracks

**General Warning: **Yaoi, Possible Adult scenarios, Violence, AU.  
**Chapter Warning:** Drunk Kiba, Fire.  
**Pairings: **NarutoxSasuke, Others later.  
**Songs While Written: **Chop Suey - System of a Down  
**Disclaimer: **This will always be the same. I don't own Naruto, never will. I did however come up with this plot and the character Sumiyaka Rie. Sumiyaka Moni belongs to Marauding-Moonpaw. These two will be appearing later. 

**A/N: **Well here it is folks! Chapter two. Thought i'd warn you that NONE of this chapter had any looking over so I'm apologizing ahead of time for any mistakes. Also, I'd like to mention that some characters may seem a bit OoC I am taking the liberty to adjusts their attitudes a tiny bit since this is an AU fic, thus they didn't completely grow up under the pressuring cicumstances as in the Manga/Anime.

Oh, and the first of the other pairings makes an appearance here, still willing to know which pairings you all would like to see!

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Sasuke sulked as he found himself not only subjected to the company of Ino and Sakura, but to that of the girls' friends. In all truth they had flat out lied, it was a 'movie night.' Oh no, it was a full out party squashed into the girls' apartment. Sasuke recognized a few people whom they had briefly been introduced to on one occasion or another. Screwing his face up into a scowl Sasuke attempted to put names to them all.

Rock Lee, that guy was easy to remember. What with the haircut that just screamed something like I-got-a-bowl-stuck-on-my-head. Oh, and did he mention the eyebrows? Really, wasn't there a surgical cure for that sort of thing? Rolling his eyes Sasuke brought the drink he'd been handed up to cover an amused snort. From what he knew Lee had been introduced to Sakura and Ino through another girl named TenTen, so Sasuke wasn't very familiar with the two.

Dark eyes slid over the other people there recognizing Inuzuka Kiba, who had lived in one of the apartments on the floor above Ino and Sakura's for a long time. From what the two gossipy girls had told him, Kiba had recently moved out and in with his Fiancé, Hyuuga Hinata. Again, Sasuke wasn't that well acquainted with either of them. Another amused snort left the Uchiha as he thought about it. He really wasn't acquainted well with _any _of them; they just up an announced themselves to be his friends.

The only people at the little party that he was decently acquainted with were Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Then again, Shikamaru didn't particularly like him, and as far as Sasuke was concerned it could be left that way. He didn't relish the idea of another person attempting to get him to socialize. Giving a frustrated little sigh Sasuke sunk back to brace his shoulders against the wall he was lingering near, and allowed his head to tilt forward. A small frown marred his visage as he glared through his bangs at the congregation, and listened to the mild thump of some music or other in the background accentuated by the idle chatter of the group.

Sasuke could see Lee flirting unsuccessfully with Sakura who was looking slightly freaked out by the attention, while Ino stood slightly to the pink haired girls left and teased her about the ordeal. Shikamaru had taken possession of the couch sometime earlier, obviously only there due to threats made on Ino's part, or perhaps he'd been kidnapped to. Sasuke did admit that he felt slightly sorry for the shy Hyuuga girl who was currently watching Kiba attempt to start a conversation with one of the plants in the room. Warily Sasuke looked down into the drink he'd been nursing, there wasn't anything alcoholic about it. Shaking his head slightly Sasuke supposed that the Inuzuka had brought some other drinks for himself, he never did turn down an opportunity to be a wild child.

Things progressed similarly for about another hour before Tenten and Lee stepped in to wrestle anything alcoholic from Kiba's grip. It somehow ended up that Tenten got soaked and attempted to murder Kiba, much to a terrified Hinata's dismay. Luckily Shikamaru and Lee moved quickly to restrain the enraged girl while Kiba giggled in her face. This amusing display was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

Sakura moved to answer the door rolling her eyes, "I bet that's him." She called back to Ino.

The blonde laughed, following after the other girl, "Better late than never, as they say!" she chirped.

Curiosity piqued, Sasuke maneuvered a little closer to the door. Frowning slightly at the fact that his view was blocked; at least he could here the conversation. The voice wasn't one he recognized and he wondered who it was since the person obviously wasn't part of the girls' usual group.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" the person chirped, whoever they were they sounded rather cheery. "I just dropped by to apologize. I can't come, got called in to pick up an extra shift at work. I'm sorry."

"Awww." Sakura whined out. "That's to bad! I was really hoping to introduce you to our friends!"

The unknown person laughed, "Yeah, maybe another time, okay?" he, yes defiantly a male voice, asked.

Sasuke could hear the smile in Sakura's voice as she responded, "Of course. Well, see around then!"

"Sure thing!" came the reply, followed by the soft click of the door closing.

Blinking Sakura and Ino moved back into view talking to each other. The blonde frowned slightly, "I was hoping to introduce him to everyone. I mean, he's a really cheerful guy. I'm sure he'd get along with all our friends."

"Yeah," Sakura replied sadly. "He works night shifts somewhere though, from what I gather."

Ino nodded sympathetically, and sighed, "Poor guy."

Frowning in slight confusion, Sasuke drifted back over to his original position. Whoever this other person was, they obviously weren't part of Ino and Sakura normal group of friends. He simply shrugged it off, it was about time he escaped this place. Pushing off the wall once more Sasuke moved over toward Sakura, tuning out the sound of Lee preaching about youth or something in the background.

Sakura looked up as Sasuke neared her and a large smile split her lips, "Sasuke-kun!" she chimed in greeting her arms folding around behind her.

"Sakura." He stated blankly, nodding toward her. "I'm going to head home now."

Sakura frowned up at him, "Aw, but Sasuke-kun! Its not even nine yet. You can't leave now!"

Scowling, Sasuke gave her a mildly annoyed glare, "I can and I will, Sakura. Good night." With another nod he retrieved his jacket from where Ino had deposited it on the back of the couch earlier, and shrugged into it. He could feel the hurt looks from both Ino and Sakura drilling into his back, but ignored them; choosing instead to walk out the door without a second glance.

Sasuke's walk home, though it wasn't unfamiliar, was slow and only chose to increase his general aggravation. The streets were packed by the milling people out to enjoy the cities night life. A few drunks stumbling into him here, a woman with an another laugh slamming into him there. Sasuke offered them nothing more then his nastiest glare. He hated this time of night; a time when nothing but idiots wandered around increasing the amount of havoc already clogging the streets.

Wandering passed one bar a group of drunk guys outside let off a few cat-calls and wolf whistles, shouts of him looking feminine ringing in his ears. Clenching his teeth so hard it ached he picked up his pace, and to think people wondered why he stayed at home for the greater part of his life. Sure, most people suck it up and deal with the degrading natures of other humans, but Sasuke just didn't have the patience to deal with them. It annoyed him, and he was a little afraid he'd snap and do something rash. He was not a rash person, nor did he want to become one. Still the little barbs stung and balled up with the others that had been thrown at him now and again to create a nasty little trap set on spring release.

Oh, sure, Sasuke had always been the popular kid with all the girls flocking after him in school, but being popular didn't make you immune to the insensitivity of other people. Just because he had been surrounded, rather unwillingly might he add, by large groups of people didn't automatically make Sasuke immune to being tormented and picked on, no, all it meant was that it wasn't done to his face. Sasuke was not stupid, he knew that the majority of the people who outwardly swooned over him secretly disliked him. After all what was there not to dislike? He had what they wanted: the attention, the groups of friends, the popularity, the looks.

Pausing on his doorstep Sasuke cast a glance toward the street, and narrowed his eyes at the white vehicle parked across from the house. He could have sworn that thing had been there for a couple days, but white cars weren't exactly rare. Shrugging it off as another one of those useless observations he jerked the door open with a quick, irritated motion. Stepping inside Sasuke slammed the door shut, and shrugged out of his jacket placing it on its usual hook.

His gaze flickered upward as he took note of the other presence in the entryway; Itachi was leaning his right shoulder against one wall, watching him with an unreadable expression and even blanker eyes. Feeling the aggravation of the last couple hours boiling beneath the surface Sasuke simply glared for a few moments before tersely questioning his elder brother, "What?"

Itachi shrugged languidly, "Is something wrong, little brother?" he asked smoothly, his gaze never faltering an inch from the perturbed figure before him.

Grinding his teeth in mild annoyance Sasuke pushed past the other and stalked toward the stairwell intent on getting to his room, and staying there for the rest of the night. Pausing on the first step Sasuke turned back to Itachi, "By the way, someone called for you earlier. I was asking them if they wanted to leave a message, but the hung up before I could get the whole sentence out."

Itachi's shoulders tensed minutely, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly at this uncharacteristic motion, "Thank you, little brother." Itachi replied simply before turning and disappearing into the living room.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further at his brother's odd behavior. Itachi normally didn't react that way, then again, Itachi rarely got strange calls from stranger people. Still standing there Sasuke could hear Itachi pick the phone up out of its cradle by the soft click of plastic on plastic. Angling his head to the side he listened, who would his brother be calling at this time? Itachi normally didn't contact anyone, let alone at ten at night.

Realizing what he was doing, Sasuke turned and started up the stairs. The very idea that he was eaves dropping unnerved him. What his brother did was none of his business, and frankly Sasuke didn't want it to be. He did catch one thing from his brothers conversation, a name: Kisame. He didn't know who that was nor did Sasuke particularly care, he figured it was one of his brother's 'friends' if you could call them that, the man was icier than he was.

Inside his room Sasuke collapsed on his bed with a sigh, not even bothering to get undressed, and burrowed his head into his pillow. Slowly the sweet blissful sleep drifted over Sasuke, and enveloped him in a world of dreams he'd never remember by the time tomorrow floated around; he rather liked it that way.

The next thing Sasuke was aware of is that kind of consciousness that a person is jerked awake into. Sasuke's whole body was soaked in that peculiar feeling. The one feeling that something is terribly wrong yet you have no idea what it is: you just know something bad is happening or is going to. All Sasuke was aware of was that he was now sitting bolt upright on his bed with his eyes wide open, and a suffocating feeling of dread pounding in the back of his skull.

Sasuke didn't know how long he sat there, frozen, unable to move as a worry howled in his veins; a worry made by some source he was unaware of. As though someone had poured ice cold water over the dark haired youth's head he snapped his gaze around to lock dark eyes on the digital clock sitting on his bedside table. The low glow of the red numbers announced the time to be exactly three in the morning.

Slowly pushing himself off his bed, Sasuke crept over to the door to his room, and rested his hand on the knob. Tilting his head to the side Sasuke listened for several long moments; the house was dead silent. The silence, something he'd normally embrace, unnerved him at this moment. Carefully pushing the door open he crept out into the hallway, and peered down the dusky corridor toward Itachi's own bedroom. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in surprise; there was light coming from beneath the door, but it wasn't a normal steady glow of an electrical light. This light source was odd; flickering like a candle, or a flame.

It was about then that realization hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks. The feeling of impending danger that had the hair on the nape of his neck standing on end, the odd flickering gleam from beneath the door to his brother's room; Sasuke understood it now. Sasuke moved forward in panicked motion his throat clenching as he rasped out a hoarse call, "Itachi!"

Grabbing hold of the doorknob, and ignoring the soft searing pain of heat the metal gave off, Sasuke jerked the door open. Stumbling back a ragged gasp of horror left Sasuke's lips. Itachi's once immaculate room was drowning in crackling flames the air heavy with smoke, smoke that was billowing out the open doorway and surrounding Sasuke in a thick black fog. Dark eyes wide Sasuke attempted to see into the room. He couldn't tell if Itachi was in there or not, and his eyes were beginning to burn from the smoke. Backing up slowly he placed his wrist against his mouth, coughing and gagging against it.

Fire was beginning to creep out of the room and into the hallway, the sound of wood popping from the intense heat filled the air. Sasuke kept backing up; his mind was screaming for him to run, but his human nature was horrified. Shame crept up his spine as he realized he was afraid. Not afraid of the fire, but that he may have just lost the last person that he had left.

The smoke was getting thicker around him now and it was beginning to make it difficult to breath. The fire roared more incessantly to life as it met with more oxygen. He had to move, if he stayed standing where he was any longer he'd be trapped, and he'd be dead. Still he was riveted; Uchiha Sasuke was stuck to the spot as fear flowed cold in his veins. A yelp of pain left his throat, sore from inhaling the heavy smoke, as flames licked at his arms. The fire was spreading across the banister of the loft like hallway. The pain seemed to snap the dark haired boy out of his own personal indecision. Sasuke whirled and ran toward the stairwell, he didn't need to see to know where he was going.

Coughing and gagging with smoke filled lungs Sasuke stumbled down the stairs, the first few dangerous creaks of weakening floor boards sending chills down his spine. Dizzy with smoke inhalation he found himself tripping up on his own two feet and falling down the rest of the stairs to land in a heap at their base. Sasuke lay there on his stomach, a few moments ticking by. His lungs seared with each inhale and clenched at every exhale, his throat felt raw and his eyes were watering, and if he wasn't mistaken he had some burns on one arm.

Groaning Sasuke dragged himself back to his feet and stumbled to the front door. His body rested heavily against the solid wood, and his hands fumbled for the knob. His mind seemed to have been fogged over, and Sasuke found himself having problems concentrating. Glaring at the door when it refused to open; Sasuke's brain processed the fact that it was probably locked. Scowling tersely as his fingers fumbled with the lock, and finally twisted it open. With a sigh of relief that swiftly turned into a hacking cough, Sasuke opened the door and stumbled out into the cool night air.

Sasuke moved away from the burning house on instinct, his body staggering as he moved across the lawn toward the general safety of the street. He had reached the edge of the front yard when he turned around to stare back up at the house, his childhood home. The building had smoke leaking from cracks between the windows and their sills, and flames flickered demonically behind the glass. The whole thing looked surreal and rain washed. He didn't know if the cause of the blurry appearance was from his eyes watering, or if he was crying now.

Sasuke looked back over his shoulder at the sound of car doors being swung open. His eyes squinting at the sight of a man leaping out of the little white car that had been parked across from his home. The man was moving toward him with quick steps, and a hand was reaching into the breast pocket of the jacket he wore.

Idly Sasuke noticed that his world seemed to be turning into a sort of liquid, melting away. His body seemed to falter the sting faded as he toppled backwards, catching sight of what looked like a police badge being flashed at him by the man, and the sounds of a police radio buzzing somewhere in the background. The world slide away, turning black as Sasuke's eyes rolled back into his head and his body hit the ground with a solid _thump_.

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**A/N: **Well there you have it. This chapter wasn't as long as the first, only about three pages in word, but I didn't want to leak over into the next chapters stuff... So I jsut left you all with a nice cliffhanger.  
I'd like to express my gratitude for the attention this fic has got. When I last check its stats I had 6 reviews, 10 alerts, 4 favs, and a C2 fav thinger.. I've never had this much attention on a fic and I think my exact reaction was "HOLY FLYING COWS IN SPACESHIPS!" You all make me feel happy.

So then, some answers to a couple few reviews:  
**BeuitifulDisgrace246: **Glad your enjoying the suspense of it. I'm really pleased you mentioned the phone call, i won't say who it is since I'll probably explain that in chapter three, but It is a tad bit important!  
**KC Evans: **Glad you enjoyed it, and yeah.. I type pretty bad so its not surprising that there were mistakes in there.. It probably would have been even worse if I wasn't using spellcheck fanatically. I don't actually read over my work, if I do the word flow stops. So i apologize, still glad you enjoyed it.

And a further thank you to the rest of you who reviewed, or faved, or put this fic on your alert list. You all made my day. This chapter would have been up last night, but was being nasty about uploading my documents. Bah. I wanted to post it on the 25th but that got delayed because I was to busy enjoying being lazy on my birthday. Oh well, it didn't take to long so i'm not gonna worry that much. Hope you enjoyed the read!


	3. Sway

**General Warning: **Yaoi, Possible Adult scenarios, Violence, AU, Unbetad  
**Chapter Warning:** Dead People, A tiny bit of blood.  
**Pairings: **NarutoxSasuke, Others later.  
**Songs While Written: **Wake the Dead by A Perfect Circle  
**Disclaimer:**Anything in this story that appears to be from the show Naruto, probably means it is and I certainly am not Masashi Kishimoto. If you don't recognize a character thenthey most likely belong to me or a friend of mine.

**A/N: **Alright, here's chapter three, sorry for the wait. I get easily distracted. Enjoy, and please remember. Don't throw things at the Author Until you've read the whole chapter, kay?

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A twinge of guilt skittered across the young man's face as he jogged down the street toward the closest bus stop. He really hated having the image of his new friends disappointment burned into his eye lids. It wasn't like it was his fault that his boss was a slimy creep. A yell of annoyance was enough to distract the poor blonde (not like he wasn't already distracted), and send him tripping over his own feet to land in a heap on the cool cement.

Naruto slowly sat up rubbing at his forehead ruefully a small groan leaving his lips. Turning his head he shook his fist at the man who'd yelled at him, but was completely ignored. Really, none of this was his fault. He couldn't help that his boss had called him to pick up an extra shift that night so he'd had to cancel attending Sakura's party. It wasn't even his fault that he'd nearly run into that guy, was it? He didn't think so; then again he really hadn't been paying enough attention to notice either way.

So here he sat in the middle of the sidewalk, the mostly deserted sidewalk, about half a block from the bus stop. His bag was a foot in front of him, the contents partially spilling out the opened flap. Crawling forward on his hands and knees the blonde reached out and tucked the books, sheets of paper, and other miscellaneous objects back inside before refastening the bag's flap with a little huff.

Standing up the blonde slung his bag up over his head so that the strap pressed diagonally across his chest and the bag itself thumped against one hip. Maybe this way the blasted thing wouldn't get dislodged so easily. Leaning forward Naruto dusted off the front of his jeans, wincing slightly as he noted a few specs of blood about the knees. Great, scuffed knee courtesy of the sidewalk.

Groaning and sputtering curses to himself under his breath Naruto straightened, a frown flickering over his face as a well known sound entered his ears. It seemed to take a good minute or two for the meaning of that sound to click, and when it did Naruto shouted out a curse word and ran forward. It was a bit to late though, the bus had already come to a stop. Passengers streamed off, and then new went on. Just as he made it the blasted thing started moving and there he was, stuck.

Watching the bus roll away down the street the blonde allowed his lower lip to poke out his face forming a pout, "I really feel like crying right about now…" he whined to himself.

The blonde continued over and plopped down on the bench with a haggard sigh. Reaching up he slowly dragged his hand through his already gravity defying hair. So there he sat contemplating the different crack patterns in the concrete of the street where it met the curb wallowing in his own little pull of misery. Frankly, Naruto didn't think it could get any worse, but of course he was contending with everyone's best friend wasn't he?

Naruto… Meet Murphy.

So there he was, sound in the ideal that nothing else could go wrong. Tilting his head back Naruto gazed at the sky momentarily before allowing his bright blue eyes to close, and attempting to ignore the slight throbbing pain in his knee caps from having jarred them against the cement. It was about this time that a person Naruto was rather familiar with noticed him sitting there, and strolled up behind the bench to lean over him; staring down into his blank face.

"Hey there…" Proclaimed a low smooth voice interrupting the mental ranting Naruto was currently enjoying, and startling the blonde near to death.

With a yelp the blonde jerked his head upward, soundly connecting it with that of the person who was leaning over him. Another pained yell left Naruto's lips and he leaned forward clutching at his head with both hands, further rumpling his spiky blonde hair. A slew of curses could be heard expelling in a muffled tone from behind his hands, and after a good few seconds of whining he whipped his head around and pointed at his 'assailant' letting out a yell fit to burst ear drums, "Where do you get off---!" However, Naruto's tirade was cut short as he found himself facing a familiar head of red-hair.

"You have one hard head, Uzumaki." came the slightly muffled, but clear enough retort from behind the pale hand currently plastered across Gaara's nose and mouth. He'd apparently suffered a bloody nose as a few scarlet drops seeped between his fingers to roll across his knuckles, and finally hang precariously off his hand for a few milliseconds before dropping to stain the dirty pavement of the sidewalk.

Naruto was oblivious to all this as he threw himself over the back of the bench and tackled the red-head into a hug along side a yelled greeting of, "Gaara!" A slight tic appeared near the red-heads temple as he waited for his release, not without quite a bit of squirming though. Finally letting Gaara he peered at him, and quirked an eyebrow, "Hey, are you ok?" he queried.

Slowly withdrawing his hand from his nose Gaara stared at the blood on his palm, wrinkling his nose slightly, "Fine." He answered the blonde shortly before pulling out a convenient tissue, and doing his best to clean the blood off his palm.

Naruto allowed a hand to rise up and scratch at the back of his head in a sheepish maneuver alongside the equally guilty smile that had plastered itself on his face, "Sorry…" he mumbled shifting his weight from one foot to the other in an apologetic manner.

"Fine." Gaara restated, "Its fine. I shouldn't have snuck up on you."

The blonde nodded his head amiably before eyeing the other up and down for a long moment. Pursing his lips Naruto quirked a brow upward toward his hairline, "Eh, Gaara… What are you doing in this neighborhood anyway? You live on the other side of town!"

Gaara canted his head to the left, and nodded toward Naruto in agreement, "I was visiting Temari." He stated simply. "We ate at this Café…" here the red-head nodded toward the building just a bit down the street from the bus stop, "and as we were leaving I spotted you. Figured I'd say hello."

Naruto beamed at that, "Awesome! I haven't seen you in forever." A short pause as realization sunk in, "Temari lives around here!"

Amused, Gaara gave a little nod though he didn't really respond to the questioning look the blonde was giving him. Though Naruto was his friend he wouldn't sick the dolt on his sister, yet it could also be that he wouldn't do that because Naruto was his friend and Temari could have a nasty temper… In either case Gaara watched Naruto quietly for a few moments before making an inquiry of his own, "What are you doing sitting out here anyway, Naruto?"

As Gaara's words sunk in the red-head watched a visible change come over the blonde. Naruto let out a heavy sigh, slumping his shoulders before walking back around to plop down on the bench again, "I got called in to pick up an extra shift tonight, but I missed the bus." Naruto mumbled.

Gaara blinked a couple times then leaned his elbows on the back of the bench beside Naruto's shoulders, staring at the side of the blonde's head as he sulked, "I could… give you a ride, Uzumaki." The red-head offered blandly.

Immediately his head jerked up and Naruto looked at Gaara gleefully, "Really!" at Gaara's nod Naruto let out a whoop, and leapt up off the bench again clutching his bag; his eyes wide and hopeful.

A smirk appeared on Gaara's lips as he shook his head in amusement, "Sure thing. Come on." Without a further word Gaara turned and started back toward the café and his car, Naruto following behind him.

"You're the best, Gaara." Naruto chirped happily.

"It's not like I wasn't already going that way…" the red-head responded as he unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver's side, and Naruto quickly tumbled into the passenger's seat.

The purr of the engine and the soft light of the darkening city eased the two into a comfortable silence of well known friends. Naruto peered out the window in a listless manner indulging in the dull thump of music from the speakers, and the steady hiss of the tires over the pavement. Buildings flashed pass casting an eerie glow from some of the lit neon signs presented flashily over the threads of people meandering about.

The blonde slowly blind himself from the mild stupor he had descended into and cast a sideways glance at his red headed companion. Naruto pursed his lips for a moment, appearing to ponder something. "Sooo," he drew out the word to make sure he had Gaara's attention, and received a grunt of acknowledgment for his pains. "How are you and Kankuro doing, Gaara?" the blonde inquired.

The red head blinked in slight surprise at the question but answered anyway, "Kankuro got fired from his old job."

Naruto winced at that, and slowly shook his head. Looking more fully at his companion he arched a brow in interest, "He still living with you then?"

The red head gave out a disgruntled snort, but Naruto grinned not fooled in the least. Gaara may have acted like he despised his siblings most of the time, yet that was far from the truth of the matter. Flicking his eyes toward the blonde, Gaara remained quiet for a moment longer before he finally spoke up, "Well, obviously." He grunted. "He did manage to land himself another job already though." Here a mischievous smirk danced across Gaara's lips, and frankly Naruto wouldn't have believed it could happen if he hadn't seen it himself.

Naruto's brows lifted upward nearly disappearing under the drape of his shaggy blonde fringe, "Oh?" he questioned, his voice filling with curiosity anything that amused the stoic red head was indeed a cause to be highly intersted, and the blonde wasn't about to miss this opportunity.

Another thing that few ever happened to bare witness to occurred just then, and Naruto was hard put to keep from gaping as Gaara chuckled to himself, "Yes indeed. He's working at the local Toys R Us now. I don't know whether its so he can scare the kids, or to play with the dolls though."

Gaara grinned almost maniacally at the sounds of sputtering, and a heavy coughing fit off to his side from his blonde haired companion. Naruto leaned forward grasping at his throat as he laughed so hard his lungs couldn't keep up and left his in need of a very vital part of living; that is, oxygen. The red head sympathetically reached over and thumped the blonde on the back while still managing to keep both eyes on the road, "Y-you're kidding me, right?" the blonde rasped out while wiping at watering eyes.

Gaara's grin widened and he shot his friend a side long look, "Oops, did I let that slip?" he drawled out listening with mild interest to the blonde's laughing fit.

"He doesn't really play with dolls, does he Gaara?" Naruto asked at last, appearing to have gotten some amount of his self control back. Not that he had ever had very much of it in the first place.

The red headed man rolled his eyes skyward at the question and shrugged one shoulder, "Marionettes, dolls, its all the same to me though the idiot continues to profess the difference like a lovesick fool."

Snickering Naruto shook his head at his friend and tilted his head, "Gaara, you don't treat your patients like this do you?" he inquired.

Gaara lifted a brow at the blonde and grinned in a way that could have been malicious if you didn't know him, "And what if I do, Uzumaki?" he drawled out imperiously.

Rolling his eyes Naruto fell silent; in Gaara-speak that basically meant that he did, and he didn't. Gaara, believe it or not, was a Psychologist, and Naruto supposed that part of his success was from his rather blunt nature. The red head had a temper, sure, but he was also fairly patient, and the fact that he barely spoke made him good at listening to other people problems. On the other hand, had things turned out how they had seemed they would when both were young, Naruto was quite sure Gaara would be the one in therapy not the therapist; if he wasn't in a mental institute, that is.

Naruto sat there contemplating the past as the world rolled speedily by only being jolted out of his trance when the car's pulled over to the curb and came to a halt. From where he sat he could just see the clinical glow that spilled from the glass doors that provided entrance to the rather squat and gloomy building. A sign five feet in front of the building and about the same measurement from where he sat proclaimed the place to be the 'East Konoha City Morgue.' After all, Konoha was a big city so there was apparently more than one morgue scattered throughout the streets, at least Naruto figured there was. Why name it the East morgue if there wasn't?

All thoughts on the name of his work place drained away as he opened the door and tumbled out onto the pavement. Turning around Naruto leaned down and cast Gaara a grateful smile, "Thanks again, buddy." He said, his tone carrying sincerity and relief at what the other had done for him. Gaara gave him a nod in response and he slammed the door shut. Turning he trudged toward the gleaming glasses doors pausing to turn and offer a wave as Gaara pulled off before he shoved them open and stepped into the buildings main lobby.

The girl sitting behind the front desk had her eyes trained on the tiny screen of a miniature black and white TV, and without even looking away she lifted a hand in greeting. Finally, as the sound of some man trying to sell something perforated the atmosphere she tore her eyes away and leaned forward on the counter giving him a grin, "Hey there, Naruto. Why are you here so early?" she asked tilting her head in such a way as to present an inquisitive nature.

Nature grinned at her and waved his hand in a gesture of brushing the whole thing aside, though he did indeed answer, "Oh… That slimy bastard Orochimaru called me in early." The blonde replied with a long suffering sigh.

The girl nodded as though this answered everything, "That would answer why that creep Kabuto is already here." She drawled out, turning her head to observe her finger nails in a display of agitated disinterest. Like his creepy mentor/boss Kabuto wasn't particularly well liked.

Blinking Naruto tilted his head in a mirror image of how the girl had done prior, "Why else would he be here?" he asked, pursing his lips in perplexity.

Snorting slightly, the girl rolled her eyes, "Just to stick close to His Sliminess, no doubt." She drawled, and then plopped down into her chair closing the discussion.

Snickering to himself Naruto proceeded back through the hallways to the small staff room where he found the aforementioned glasses wearing man. Grinning cheerily while he grimaced within the blonde offered a cheery greeting, "Hey there, Kabuto!" he chirped.

Lips pressed into a thin line Kabuto looked up from the papers he was examining. Naruto himself went over and peered into the office that Orochimaru normally inhabited. Blinking at the slippery man's absence Naruto turned to Kabuto. Before the blonde could even ask Kabuto smirked infuriatingly at the blonde, "Orochimaru-sama is on the other side of town. There is a body of peculiar interest there that he was called to investigate." The man said in his precise tones.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and frowned deeply, "And that's why I was called in early?" he asked, his voice sounding petulant even to himself.

Kabuto's smirk widened as he tucked his papers beneath one arm and used his free hand to press his round glasses further up his nose, "But of course, Naruto-kun. Now then… we recently got a body that needs to be prepared. So why don't you go get ready, and get to that? I have some reports that Orochimaru-sama needs me to go over…"

A scowl settled itself firmly into place on the blonde's face, but he made no protest. Instead Naruto turned to do as he was told. Truly, he doubted he'd have stayed with this job if it wasn't for his bosses boss, as weird as that sounded. He'd gotten the job thanks to her, really. Tsunade was the County Medical Examiner, and Orochimaru worked directly under her. They were both close friends with his God-guardian (did that even exist?). He supposed it was something like a having a god father, since his own father was an adoptive one, and Jiraiya was a friend of the mans. So, all in all Naruto had a long list of people to thank for getting him the job, even if it was working as a Morgue attendant.

Dressed in a smock, rubber gloves, and the whole shebang Naruto marched into one of the sterile rooms in the buildings basement. In this particular room there was a number of waist high metal tables. The floor was a stark relief of dull gray tiles slopping gently to a drain set in the floor. On one wall a spigot was located to make it easier to clean the floor when needed. Another wall was lined, floor to ceiling, with a number of man-sized drawers, each refrigerated to keep any bodies within from decaying to fast.

The table near the center of the room was occupied by a figure covered by a pale blue cloth of sorts. Beside the examination table on which the covered body was placed a cart of similar metal sat innocently displaying an array of tools with which to cut into the corpse. Pacing over Naruto grimly stared down at his new friend rolling his eyes monetarily at his own grim humor. Reaching out he took hold of the cloth near the top of the table and began to draw it down to reveal the figure's head, neck, and shoulders. Taking a moment the blonde observed the person, lips set in a grim line as his eyes took in black hair and pale features.

Their lips further accentuated by the blue tone they'd taken on, and parts of the person's body flushed where blood had settled postmortem. Flicking his gaze down the length of the corpse he clucked his tongue, he really was uncomfortable with the whole thing. It wasn't exactly that death bothered him a whole lot, he just felt like he was disgracing the person. After all he did have to see them nude to do his job, and that fact just made him downright uncomfortable.

By the slope of the person's chest, it was obviously a she. Heaving out a sigh he removed the cloth all together and picked up the first of his cutting tools, "Well, girl, sucks to be you." He mumbled, graveyard humor getting the better of him.

--

It was some time after three AM, and Naruto finally found himself standing before the apartment building where his home was now located. The night was quiet, though a few thumping strains of loud music reverberated down the empty streets from some club or bar. Standing there Naruto lifted his arms above his head and stretched his back arching, and he relished in the sound of his spine popping.

The slow throb of the 'silently' sleeping city night was suddenly shattered like a frail window, the remnants cascading to the ground in a crystal shower as sirens blared somewhere in the distance. The palely glowing skyline, probably accented by light as it was by some power plant or other, had the distinct smudge of smoke upon it that spoke of a fire. Briefly the blonde wondered what was occurring, and the fact that it wasn't really that far off made it all the more intriguing. In the end though, Naruto simply lifted a shoulder in a tired shrug and trudged inside the building, intent on bed.

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**A/N: **Sooo, how many of you hate me now? Heehee, you'll have to wait just a bit longer to find out what happened to poor Sasuke. Did I give anyone a heart attack with the dead person? Think I killed poor Sasuke off? Yes, I am an evil person. You can throw things at me now, and don't forget to leave a review! Until next time! Hehe!


	4. Search

**General Warning: **Yaoi, Possible Adult scenarios, Violence, AU, Unbetad  
**Chapter Warning:** A bit of Psycho!Sasuke  
**Pairings: **NarutoxSasuke, Others later.  
**Songs While Written: **"Bother" by Stone Sour  
**Disclaimer:**Anything in this story that appears to be from the show Naruto, probably means it is and I certainly am not Masashi Kishimoto. If you don't recognize a character thenthey most likely belong to me or a friend of mine.

**A/N:** Alright folks, chapter four at last. Its a bit borring, in my personal opinion, but serves to move the story along a bit. I should think that the boys will be meeting in the next chapter. :D

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Burning. That's all there really was to the world, wasn't there? A painful sort of chafing, burning sensation that screeched with the intensity of a cat impaled on an iron railing. The first thing after the pain that he was aware of was the smell of an overly sterilized place. That bitter tang that heralded that one was in a place that was far to clean for its own good, and he personally believed that was possible. After all if a place seemed to stark didn't it feel, in its own way, more foreboding than any dungeon ever could?

The next part of Sasuke's reemergence into consciousness was the sudden flutter of sooty lashes allowing his dark eyes to gaze on the harsh white of the place he was in. Well, in a manner of speaking. At current the dark haired man was having trouble getting his eyes to focus on anything, the edges blurrier than anything, and the haze in his vision slowly but surely cleared away allowing him to see a ceiling of tiles that reminded him of a school building, if you could ignore what appeared to be a stain from roughly dispatched medicine above his head.

Finally, and like the plug of a sink being pulled sound came flooding back into Sasuke's universe; swift and explosive enough to cause him to wince. Around him he could hear the faint beeping of machines, the dull roar of chatter, and what faintly sounded like the mechanical call of an announcement over an intercom. Sasuke's rather nice view of the ceiling tiles was suddenly inhibited by a head of brown hair, and a pair of green eyes. The young woman flashed him a smile, "Oh, good you're awake, Uchiha-san." She chirped cheerily.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her; clearly conveying that she, and her happy mood could drop over dead. The young nurses smile faltered slightly, and she straightened up clearing her throat. Hustling out of his line of vision while she mumbled about getting someone.

During the time that he was truly alone Sasuke took stock of his surroundings. It was a single room with a long window on one wall that overlooked a small courtyard, a wall, and finally the street, and the buildings across from the Hospital. The rest of the walls were blank, and of a slightly off white color. It didn't do much to lessen the intensity of the room. The bedside table harbored the only splash of color. A vase of flowers, and an over flowing basket of cards and treats.

Rolling his eyes back toward the ceiling the Uchiha decided to just ignore it all. A few short minutes rolled by as Sasuke lay there waiting, and finally the nurse came back; with a tray of food and a man he didn't know. As the door swung closed behind the two, Sasuke could vaguely see a rotund man chatting to one of the nurses outside, narrowing his eyes the Uchiha wondered who these people were. The man in the room sat down on the chair that was settled near the foot of the hospital bed (Sasuke guessed it'd been put there so the man could converse with him more easily. The nurse sat the tray on his lap once he'd sat up.

As the woman retreated, and Sasuke poked at his questionable meal the man at the foot of his bed cleared his throat, "How are you feeling Uchiha-san?" he asked, doing his best to sound polite.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man, obviously not liking that he was there in the first place, "It's Sasuke." He stated, he didn't care for the 'Uchiha-san' bull, that's what people called his brother, nor could he stand 'Sasuke-kun' like the girls insisted on squealing.

The man seemed mildly taken aback by this, but simply smiled and nodded in that amiable way of people who deal with other people to often, and this only made the Uchiha's eyes narrow more; he didn't like it. The man pulled out a small notepad and propped it on his crossed knees, "Ah, well…. Sasuke, I'm from the police departments investigations unit. We've been looking into your brother these last few weeks."

Sasuke's eyes widened minimally; not being one to show much emotion on his face. Memories of the cars that were always, _always _lurking outside their residence, in one form or another. So that had been the police? That voice on the phone then, was that them as well? His eyes darkened as he recalled the few sounds of the man that had been outside his room, and Sasuke's agile mind recalled the voice from the phone. They deficiently overlapped, and Sasuke turned his dark gaze on the cop, "You called my house…" he stated, blunt and to the point.

The man smiled slightly, "Ah, my partner did that. We were hoping to get contact directly with you're brother under… 'certain pretenses.'"

Sasuke simply scowled at this announcement, "Why were you watching Itachi?"

Here the man paused for a long moment, and perused the not pad he had, "Yes, about that. Sasuke, do you recall the events of several years back? Well you see, we had some new evidence about the death of your par---"

The man trailed off, for when he looked up he'd noticed an odd change come over the Uchiha. Sasuke's head had lowered a few degrees to let his dark bangs dangle over his eyes, and there was a small tremor running through his hands. When Sasuke looked back up, his eyes were wide and wild, he looked downright crazy. When he spoke his voice was hoarse and riddled with emotion, "Of course I remember!"

Relaxing back into his chair the man carefully looked away from the crazed looking Uchiha, "Good, could you recount that event to me, Sasuke?" his voice was low and careful, like he was talking to a very small child, or perhaps to a wild animal; offering it food from his palm.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke appeared to be no longer in control of his emotions, his body jerked violently as he lunged toward the man. The tray of food getting knocked off to the side to clang and clatter against the floor while the contents was spread across the pristine tile. The man had made to leap backward, while still sitting, resulting in the flimsy chair toppling as well as himself. He now sat staring wide eyed at the dark haired youth, who continued his ranting unabated, "You should just SHUT UP. I don't want to go back there, again! _Do you hear me!"_

The noise and shout had attracted some of the staff who grabbed hold of the flailing Uchiha's arms, and dragged him back against his pillows. A nurse asking him to calm down as he continued to glare death at the cop.

The cop stood, shaken but perfectly fine, "At another time then, Sasuke…" he nodded to the Uchiha before hurrying from the room.

--

They had insisted on keeping Sasuke in the hospital until the next day, just to make certain he was completely fine. Though his health hadn't been the first thing on the Uchiha's mind, since he was fairly certain he was perfectly fine; no, what had concerned Sasuke was simple, where he was going to stay.

The doctors had expressed concern for his emotional and mental stability after his little outburst, and had suggested it best he stay with someone until he was thought to be 'stable,' and of course when he said suggested, he meant they had ordered. Of course, being the Uchiha he was, he had argued long and hard against this. In the end though, Sasuke had given in; if only to make them leave him alone.

He was still mulling over the thought when the door opened, and in stepped an old friend of the family. Sasuke glowered at the tall man, "Kakashi." He grunted, by way of greeting.

The eccentric silver haired man grinned lazily at him, "Ahh, Sasuke the hospital called me saying you were in something of a predicament."

Had Sasuke been one of broadcast his emotions he'd have shown a face of utter shock and horror. He simply did not have the patience, or temper, to live with Hatake Kakashi; retired teacher, and aspiring author. "Why did they call you?" he asked, scowl firmly in place.

Kakashi's grin widened, and his eyes shut happily, "Ahh, well you see, I'm listed as a contact on your medical records. With Itachi MIA, I was the next person they could turn to!" The man seemed to be able to sense Sasuke's malcontent with the idea. "So, I told them I'd let you stay with me until you can find yourself a room mate, or what have you. Isn't that great?"

Sasuke's scowl intensified, "I hate you."

Kakashi simply continued to grin happily.

--

It had been a few days since Sakura and Ino's little party, and Sasuke's accident. Sakura had thought, and thought about the idea she was about to put into play here. It was a wonderful plan, really; even Ino had admitted that it was!

Lifting her hand Sakura rapped on the door that she stood before, and waited for the occupant to answer. Shortly the door cracked open and a mop of messy blonde hair appeared. Naruto scratched at his sleep mussed hair and blinked hazily at the girl, "What'cha need Sakura-chan?" he asked, voice gravely from sleep.

Flushing slightly Sakura looked down at the floor, shy as she could be, "I'm sorry for waking you Naruto, but I was wondering. What do you think of having a room mate?"

Naruto blinked opening the door a bit wider, "A room mate? Never thought about it…. Why?"

Sakura grinned inwardly, "Well, you see this friend of mine…. Their house burned down, and they need a place to stay."

A frown appeared on the blonde's face. Sakura, over the short time she had known him, had learned that he had a rather large heart. "And?" he continued, a hint of sympathy and curiosity tainting his tone.

_Hook_, Sakura thought, fighting hard to keep the devious grin off her face. "Well, see right now they're stuck staying with a person they don't really get along with, and the doctors don't want them alone. My friend has some emotional problems, lately."

"Ouch…" the blonde murmured, his face screwing up in thought. "Well, I'm not sure…" he began, sounding like he wanted to, but wasn't sure if he should let some stranger, Sakura's friend or not, live with him.

_Line_. Sakura butted in, "The fire, during it their last family member disappeared… No one knows if they are dead, or just missing…." She murmured, looking as sad as she could.

Naruto's frown grew, and his shoulders slumped slightly, "All right, all right. I'm sure it wouldn't be to bad…."

_Sinker_! Sakura immediately transformed, and let out a whoop; punching the air. The girl tackled Naruto with a sudden hug, "Thanks Naruto!" she squeaked. Turning she fled, leaving the confused blonde behind to stare. After all, he didn't know that he had just allowed the pink haired girl's crush to move in with him.

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**A/N:** Admittedly, I didn't much care for this chapter. I found it short, and borring... but its needed to keep the plot to its pace and to fill in some minor things that should be known. Oh and, my Kakashi doesn't cover his face or anything. He'll show up a bit more inj the next chapter, and in the future. Sorry for the length of time between updates. I'm really slow and lazy. xD Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to drop me a review if you feel so inclined!


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